Sunday, 20 December 2015

What do we know about Crowdtesting and Its Importance?

Within a short span of time, crowdsourced
testing or crowdtesting has become a popular trend in software testing. As the name indicates, crowdtesting involves a
group of individuals in the software testing process. Under this distinct form
of testing, the enterprises share prototypes of software application with a
group of individuals through an online platform for testing purposes.

Thus, a software application is tested under
real world conditions by the crowd that includes both software testers and end
users. Many businesses opt for crowdtesting to get feedback from a wide variety
of individuals, and identify all defects and performance issues in their
software. An enterprise can also reap a number of additional benefits by
involving more individuals in the software testing process.

What Make Many Businesses Opt for Crowdtesting?

Flexibility

To test a modern application effectively, the
testers must have adequate testing experience and domain expertise. Often
enterprises find it challenging to pick the right professionals to test
specific software applications.
Crowdtesting makes it easier for enterprises to get the software tested
by a group of individuals with varying backgrounds and expertise. Further, most
crowdtesters are passionate about identifying bugs in the application and
improve its quality.

Reduced Testing Time

Nowadays businesses have to assess all aspects
of the software application within a shorter amount of time. So enterprises
have to deploy additional testers to complete the required tests on schedule.
Often small businesses and start-ups find it daunting to complete an
application thoroughly within a shorter amount of time. Crowdtesting helps
businesses to identify all critical bugs in the software within a shorter
amount of time. As the software is tested by a group of individuals
simultaneously, it can be assessed thoroughly without increasing the time to
market.

Unbiased Assessment

In an agile environment, testers and
programmers work as a single team. Also, the testers have to collaborate with
various stakeholders in the project on a continuous basis. That is why; often
testers find it difficult to provide unbiased feedback and reports on the
software’s quality. Crowdtesting helps businesses to eliminate the intrinsic
biasness of in-house testers. As the software is tested by diverse individuals, an enterprise can
easily get more relevant test results and unbiased feedback.

Enhance Test Coverage

The testers must test the software under
different environments and condition to assess its quality accurately. But
often enterprises find it difficult to test applications across different
devices, environments and platforms due to lack of adequate resources. Many
businesses opt for crowdtesting to increase test coverage by overcoming the
constraints related to resources. When the software is tested by a group of
individuals, the business can easily find out all technical issues and bottlenecks
affecting its functionality and performance.

Better Compatibility
Testing

The modern applications need to deliver quality
user experience across a wide variety of devices, platforms and browsers. But
it is not possible for businesses to test the software using all devices
available in the market. Many enterprises even use emulators to assess the
performance of the application across many devices. A business can always share
the software with crowdtesters to effectuate compatibility and usability testing.
As the testers will assess the software on various devices and platforms, it
will be easier for the business to assess the software’s compatibility more
accurately.

Cost Effective

Often small enterprises and start-ups find it
difficult to maintain an in-house team of software testers. Also, businesses
find it difficult to find testers with adequate domain-knowledge to test the
application effectively. When an enterprise opts for crowdtesting, it is
required to pay to the testers only for the unique and relevant defects or
performance issues detected by them. So
it becomes easier for it to get all aspects of the product tested without
incurring additional expenses. At the same time, crowdtesting helps businesses
to hire experienced testers, project managers and designers.

However, it is also important for the
enterprises to make a comprehensive plan to overcome some of the major
shortcomings of crowdtesting. The plan must focus on managing confidentiality,
facilitating communication with crowdsourced testers, and detecting relevant
and impactful bugs. The right strategy will help businesses to overcome these
shortcomings, and take advantage of the emerging software testing trend.